INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -
Gov. Mike Pence continued signing into law measures dealing with everything
from adoption to control of feral cat populations as the clock wound down on
taking action on bills from the 2014 session.

Pence has one week
from the time a bill a reaches his desk to sign, veto or allow the measure
to go into law without his signature. State lawmakers finished work during
their 2014 session earlier this month and have been awaiting Pence’s
decisions on some key measures.

He delivered an
answer Wednesday afternoon on one key measure, allowing Central Indiana
counties to decide whether to raise taxes to pay for a mass transit program.

“While I still have
reservations about the sustainability of expanded mass transit services, I
signed this bill because the General Assembly made significant improvements
during the legislative process, bringing to closure years of debate on this
issue,” Pence said in a statement.

Questions remained
Wednesday, however, if he would veto a bill ending the state’s energy
efficiency program. The battle has pitted environmentalists and a handful of
top companies against the state’s manufacturing and utility interests.

Lawmakers ended
their 2014 session two weeks ago, but bills have been trickling across the
governor’s desk since then. Pence planned to hold bill signings throughout
the state Thursday on a handful of his top priorities, including a preschool
pilot program and new funding for major road expansions.

Outside the
high-profile signings, Pence has inked an array of new measures into law. On
Wednesday, he approved new regulations for feral cat populations in trailer
parks, a series of measures promoting Indiana agriculture and new rules for
the inspection of private buses. He also approved a measure that could
promote the growth of industrial hemp, a sweeping overhaul of the state’s
criminal sentencing rules and new rules for unlicensed child care providers
that receive government dollars.

He signed into law
Tuesday a new tax credit to promote adoption, one of his 2014 agenda items.
He also approved the creation of a program for women veterans and a measure
encouraging veterans to become teachers.